Shortly after endorsing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack received nearly $90,000 in donations to his defunct presidential campaign from some of Clinton's major backers, campaign finance reports show.
The donations, disclosed in Federal Election Commission filings over the weekend, came from Clinton fundraising bastions of New York, California, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
None came from Iowa, where Vilsack served two terms as governor.
Vilsack, unable to raise the tens of millions needed to wage a serious presidential campaign, withdrew from the Democratic race in February. In a finance report filed Sunday covering the first half of the year, Vilsack disclosed that he had $2,962 in cash and a leftover debt of $148,000.
Once he dropped out, Democratic candidates came courting, hoping he could help them win the important early caucus state. In March he endorsed Clinton, and his Democratic organization is viewed as key to her chance of winning in Iowa six months from now.
In May and June, at least 45 Clinton donors contributed $87,000 to Vilsack's presidential campaign account. Vilsack used part of the money to repay himself $55,000, part of a personal loan he had given to his campaign. He paid other bills as well.
Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer said that Clinton had made it clear early "we were going to help retire the debt" but that Clinton did not receive Vilsack's endorsement because of any offer or deal.
"The Clintons and Gov. Vilsack have a long history," Singer said. "She offered to do whatever she could to help him close out his campaign."
Vilsack spokeswoman Kiki McClean said the former governor "endorsed Sen. Clinton because he believes she is the best person to be president." She said "it's not surprising" that Democratic donors would back Clinton and Vilsack.
San Jose State University political science professor Larry N. Gerston, noting that such arrangements were not unusual, called it "a pretty good investment by Hillary Clinton," given Vilsack's standing among Iowa Democrats.
"He is a 'name' there, and that is a wide-open race," Gerston said. "Is this anything new? It is not. Far be it from me to say it is wrong, because there are few wrongs. There are far more \o7opportunities\f7 than there are \o7wrongs\f7."
